Trolling motors have long been used by fishermen and other boaters as an auxiliary motor on a boat for propelling the boat short distances and to provide precise positioning of the boat. Some trolling motors are hand steered while others offer a combination of hand and foot steering operation.
One known form of trolling motor uses a foot pedal including a foot pad connected to a rigid cable. The rigid cable is connected to a gear mechanism and a trolling motor control head, such as through a rack and pinion, which in turn rotates the trolling motor to provide steering. Speed control is effected electrically by a horizontal sliding movement of the foot pad to rotate a knob which actuates a potentiometer forming part of a speed control circuit.
An alternative form of trolling motor uses an electronic servo control. Such a foot pedal is disclosed in Henderson et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,171,173, assigned to the assignee of the present application.
With each of the above trolling motors the foot pedal is hard wired or cabled to a control head for the trolling motor. The use of a cable or wire limits the positioning of the foot pedal relative to the control head. Also, the cable can become tangled or be a hazard to fishermen.
The present invention is directed to further improvements in trolling motor steering and speed control.